Our business is driven by the diverse skills, expertise and passion of our more than 11,000 employees.

When we invest in their skills and leadership, we are investing in both their success and ours.

For this reason, we are a learning organization, working with our people around the world to help them develop their existing capabilities and discover and acquire new skills as well. Doing so not only contributes to their career potential, but also means we are investing in the talent we need to be a leading 21st-century company.

Our Approach

Due to the geographic and cultural diversity of our workforce, we have developed a blend of global, country-based, and site-based human resources policies and programs. We take a global approach to senior leadership development, performance, and talent management. We take a tailored approach to compensation and benefits, training, and employee relations, to address the unique labor markets and social conditions in the countries where we operate. This approach has allowed us to implement targeted local programs that attract, retain and motivate our staff while reflecting local norms.

Our employees participated in more than 900,000 hours of training in 2016.

Our Progress

In 2016, over 900,000hours of career training were provided to our employees.

In 2016, Barrick continued to develop career-mapping and skills development programs for functional groups; programs for maintenance, metallurgy, and mining have been built, designed, and rolled out. This complements the safety and health, community relations, and exploration programs that have previously been developed. In 2017, the Company will be focusing on reviewing, upgrading, and leveraging technology to make training more robust and accessible by adopting a new learning approach with an emphasis on “bite-sized” and “just-in-time” learning.

The Company has created a program to support the development of the CFOs at each of Barrick’s mine sites. The CFO comprehensive development framework will equip new and existing CFOs with the necessary functional, business, and leadership skills that focus on their distinct and evolving role.

Barrick is proud to give back to those who have served their countries in military service and has introduced a global program to recruit veterans. The purpose of this program is to acknowledge the service of veterans, and access the abundant and underutilized talents that veterans can bring to Barrick as they start their second careers.

In 2016, we expanded on the offering of the operator assessment process. This will increase the number of non-management employees who receive regular career and development reviews.

At the Pueblo Viejo mine, the team continued the operator technical training program that was launched in late 2015. The program is built around assessing existing individual skills and building customized technical training which then enables operators to have the right capabilities to operate equipment at the mine. Operators are able to continue accessing the training center throughout their career, thereby expanding their skill sets and allowing us to link the progression of their training with their compensation. As part of this program, the mine opened a new training center with equipment and simulators to help expedite the training process in the summer of 2016.

In 2016, the Lumwana mine in Zambia adopted the technical training program developed at Pueblo Viejo. Twenty-five Zambian nationals have taken a four-week course and are now certified in training and evaluation of the operator training program.

Access to Talent

We have processes and programs to provide on-the-job learning, coaching and mentoring, education, and other development opportunities for employees throughout their careers at Barrick. We leverage technology such as webinars and e-learning modules to improve the learning experience and to mitigate the challenges of remote operating environments. We also use our talent management process to identify and develop high-potential, globally mobile employees, providing them with a variety of assignments to help them advance their careers.

Approximately 19% of open operator positions, and 31% of open professional positions, have been filled by internal talent.

Employee Engagement & Retention

There are a number of factors that drive employees’ sense of well-being and therefore their sense of engagement in the workplace. Among the most significant are feeling recognized and valued for work performed, receiving fair pay, and developing skills and knowledge that will facilitate employability for a lifelong career. We work to address these factors through performance feedback, employee development programs and education opportunities, and through the wages and benefits we provide.

Employee Development

Transforming Women's Lives

Recognition & Performance Feedback

At Barrick, we recognize and reward people for good work and for the contributions they make to the organization. Barrick offers awards to recognize excellence in specific areas that are directly aligned with our priorities. Moreover, the Company promotes Visible Felt Leadership as a way to provide employees with ongoing feedback, coaching, and recognition. We understand that fair and proper recognition drives engagement and strengthens our culture.

Each year, executives and senior and middle managers undertake an annual, formal performance assessment process at the head office and country offices. At sites, supervisors and non-management individuals participate in a similar performance review process for professional and skilled employees. Employees in work crews at our operations have regular assessments driven by key performance indicators, often in a team format. Each of these performance review scenarios provide an opportunity for employees at all levels both to be recognized for good performance and to set goals to help improve performance.

Skills Development & Training

We are becoming a talent-obsessed firm as any leading organization should be, and strongly believe in professional development and life-long learning. To that end, skills development, vocational training, and apprenticeship programs are often available at our operations. Barrick has also developed role-based, in-house skills development programs to advance employee capabilities. Most of our programs are self-directed, often online as e-module programs, and utilize on-the-job assignments and mentoring. Other programs complement our global curriculum and are designed to address local market capabilities and legislative requirements. Examples of country-specific programs include Supervisors for Success in North America and the Intermediate Management Program in South America.

We also have several partnerships in place with universities around the world to facilitate the development of our people. One example is our relationship with the University of Nevada, Reno. This program provides management-skills training to supervisors and managers from our sites across northern Nevada. Future plans include expansion of this public-private partnership to cover other subjects and new groups of students. In addition, professionals who participate in continuing professional development programs, offered through universities or professional organizations, are eligible for Company reimbursement. Employees everywhere may be eligible for Company-sponsored short courses, business seminars, and technical or vocational training to advance their career paths.

Each Barrick employee receives on average almost 65 hours of training and development each year.

Goal 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

Recruiting Military Veterans

Leadership Development

Barrick also invests significant effort in developing our employees into future Company leaders. Our global leadership development strategy combines core and specialized programs, as well as experiential assignments and ongoing assessment, for all leadership levels in the organization. Programs such as the Frontline Supervisor Training Program and the Operations Leadership Program are designed to strengthen the skills of our supervisors and mine managers and to maintain the required depth of leadership capability for some of Barrick’s most critical roles. These programs build the necessary skills for leaders at multiple levels to develop the capability of their employees, monitor the development and coaching of future leaders, and manage employee performance. We review and revise our programs on a regular basis and provide refresher training, when required.

Another example is the Compass program, which is an apprenticeship development program designed for early career professionals to equip themselves with the knowledge and practical skills necessary for their technical roles. It offers cross-functional modules in areas like exploration geology, mine geology, metallurgy, mining, processing, and safety and health, to increase the technical proficiency of graduates and entry-level staff. The program is experiential, with participants advancing their capabilities by completing structured, on-the-job assignments coupled with mentoring guidance to support their career progression in the industry.

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure

Barrick Partners with Cisco to Transition to a Digital World

Wages & Benefits

We provide wages and benefits relative to country economics, matching or exceeding median wages in the countries where we operate. Men and women employed in the same job category receive similar remuneration, according to their level of experience and length of employment, using the same remuneration range. Our benefits programs are country-focused and are primarily determined by local practices and employee needs, but they may also include access to Company programs. Benefits provided include a core group of health care benefits at all operations as well as non-core country-specific benefits. Non-core benefits may include pension and other retirement programs, maternity or parental leave, life and accidental death insurance, wellness programs, and employee assistance programs.

In general, full-time employees receive our full complement of benefits available in their country locations, while part-time and contract employees may receive a smaller number of these benefits. The availability and type of benefits offered to part-time and contract workers vary by country. In all cases, employees receive benefits required by law and these may be supplemented by additional benefits.

Below is a list of these benefits, by country:

Argentina: Temporary or part-time employees receive the same benefits as full-time employees.

Canada: Temporary or part-time employees working more than 20 hours per week at the Toronto Head Office qualify for the same benefits as full-time employees. Temporary employees at our Hemlo mine site do not qualify for benefits.

Chile: Vacation bonus does not apply to temporary or part-time employees.

Dominican Republic: All employees receive fringe benefits such as a pension plan, workers' compensation and social security. Temporary employees are not eligible for elements such as a transportation bonus, food bonus, or benefits program provisions for childbirth, marriage or the death of a family member, and they do not qualify for paid time off. As well, private health insurance applies only to the employee, not their direct dependents.

United States: In order to be eligible for benefits, an employee needs to be regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week. If they are working less than 40 hours, some of their benefits, for example, vacation, would be pro-rated but the rest of the eligibility would be the same as a regular full-time employee.

A part-time regular employee is one who is regularly scheduled to work more than 25 but less than 30 hours per week. They are not eligible for health insurance (medical dental or vision) or life insurance benefits (basic life, supplement life, accidental death or dismemberment or dependent life insurance) or any disability coverages. The only benefits they receive are 401k and pro-rated vacation.

A part-time employee who is regularly scheduled to work less than 25 hours per week is not eligible for any of the benefits programs.

Zambia: The same benefits are provided to temporary employees, the only difference being contract duration.

Barrick has a number of instruments that provide retirement and savings benefits to employees. We have non-qualified, defined-benefit pension plans covering certain employees and former directors of the company. As well, certain employees take part in defined-contribution employee savings plans (examples include 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, RRSPs, employee share-purchase plans and deferred profit-sharing plans).

In 2016, Barrick created a program to make every Barrick employee—from the millwright to the mine clerk—a Barrick shareholder, with an initial allocation of 25 common shares per person. We expect this to grow over time, in line with the Company’s performance. Our people are not just employees, they are owners, with all that this implies. Owners take responsibility, hold each other accountable, work with urgency, and always seek to improve. They are, in other words, true partners.

In many countries, Barrick provides outplacement support to employees whose employment has been severed. Services vary by country, but are designed to provide employees with the tools and resources needed to support their job search effort and may include transition counseling, résumé writing, job search assistance, and life skills training.

Our vision is the generation of wealth through responsible mining — wealth for our owners, our people, and the countries and communities with which we partner.

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